Mom raised her eyebrows. “You mean my daughter.”
I fidgeted uncomfortably as Miles made a big, clichéd show of proclaimed astonishment at my mother’s age while my mom blushed and swatted his shoulder playfully. It struck me just then what was so different about my mom tonight. She was wearing makeup. She never used to wear much, if any at all, and now a flattering streak of pink colored her cheeks, and her eyes were highlighted by a dark coat of mascara.
“I think this one’s a keeper, Olive,” she said, bringing me back to the conversation.
He draped his arm once again across my shoulders, squeezing me in extra tight. “I keep trying to convince your daughter of that.”
Mom laughed while Chloe added, “His family owns this place. He kept it a secret so he could surprise Olive when he found out we were coming.”
Her voice was definitely riddled with wariness. Which had me wondering if my sub-par acting abilities were to blame. It was time to put on my big girl pants and play this dumb game I’d started. I smiled brightly and turned to my fake boyfriend, piercing him with a private stare so full of pleading he could do nothing while I leaned closer and placed a kiss on his cheek. It was warmer than expected, given the cold. He had a hint of stubble on his face, and the overall feel wasn’t as horrible as I had imagined. I refused to meet his eyes, though.
Turning to face Mom and Chloe, I said, “It was the best surprise. What are the odds?”
“You two are so cute.” Mom beamed.
“Just a peck on the cheek?” Chloe smiled daggers at me. “After such a romantic gesture?”
My nose flared slightly, but I managed to keep my smile bright as I regarded my horrible sister. “I’ve already thanked him plenty. Besides, I’m not into PDA.”
“I am, though,” Miles said, turning to face me, pure devilish mischief on his face. “I don’t mind you thanking me again.”
My entire body froze. Mom and Chloe watched me expectantly. I had to play this off. There was no way I would be kissing Miles, even though I now knew exactly how he intended to get even with me for all of this.
I squeezed his arm tighter while attempting to laugh off my mom and Chloe. “Don’t you two have husbands to get back to?”
“They’ll be fine,” Chloe said, snapping her wrist in front of her like it was no big deal. “I want some proof that you’re actually dating. Since nobody heard about you two before last night.”
That little hormonal perv.
I looked at my mom to save me. Surely this was weird for her, too. But this woman was a far cry from the prim and proper mother I had grown up with. She smiled and folded her arms. “She does have a point. A quick kiss might help us all wrap our heads around this.”
What was happening?
Miles turned to face me, trying to hide his smile. “Better give the people what they want, Celery Stick.”
Fine.
FINE. They were right. It wouldn’t hurt anything. The effect of a kiss was all in our heads, blown up by the romantic comedies of the world. An actual kiss was just one mouth pressed against another mouth. Kind of gross, actually. But really no big deal. I could put my mouth on Miles Taylor’s mouth and just be done with it. You know what was difficult to wrap my brain around? That I was being forced into this position. That Miles was actually HERE right now. I was going to kill Millie.
I turned to face Miles. “Alright, let’s do this.”
His lips broke into a smile. “So romantic,” he murmured.
“Shut up,” I whispered just before I grabbed the collar of his flannel shirt, pulled him down to where I could reach, and pressed my mouth against his. I hadn’t realized how cold my lips were until they were touching his. How were men always so warm? The attractive pine and spice smell of his cologne immediately tried to weaken me, but I remained strong, like an immovable oak. As far as kisses went, it was what I imagined giving a grandparent a peck on the lips would feel like. Our lips were slightly puckered, but I refused to open my mouth any more, so we just stood there with our mouths pressed together for as long as I could stand. I pulled away and tucked the hair behind my ear, wondering why my heart was pounding. It couldn’t have been from that kiss.
I cleared my throat and turned to face my executioners. “There you go.”
“Wow,” was all Chloe could say.
“Huh,” Mom said.
We all stood there in a semi-awkward silence for a few moments before my mom put us out of our misery. “Well, Olive, you’re still in trouble for keeping him from us,”
I wrinkled my nose playfully. “I’m sorry. I wanted to be sure he wasn’t a dud before I told everyone.”
Miles chuckled appreciatively, his arm snaking around my waist once more.
Suddenly, Chloe bent over, resting her hands on her knees, and took a deep breath. Her face had grown even more pale since we’d been standing here.
“You okay, Chlo?” I asked.
Another breath. “Yeah. Just nausea.”
“We have a general store here with over-the-counter medicines. I can go grab you something if you need it,” Miles offered. I looked at him in surprise, but his eyes were on Chloe.
“We have some at the cabin.” She smiled at him gratefully. “But thank you.”
“So, is this the guy I’ve been hearing so much about the past…five minutes?” Russ’s booming voice broke into our group. We turned to see him and Ben walking toward us, each holding a twin in their arms.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as my shoulders sank in defeat. This freaking foyer was busier than a subway.
Miles leaned forward, shaking Russ’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Miles.”
“Russ Ellis. Has anybody ever told you that you look like a young Bradley Cooper?”
“Right? I thought the same thing,” Ben chirped from behind my mom.
A grin split across Miles’s entire face. “I have heard that a time or two.” The hand that was around my waist dug into my side, tickling me. I tried to casually get out from his grip, but he held me firmly.
“How’d you come to be here?” He eyed us curiously. He must have missed Chloe’s explanation.
Mom stepped in, looking at me. “Miles’s family owns the entire lodge. I still find it crazy that you were able to keep this secret that long.”
“He loves a good joke.” I looked up at him and patted his cheek, maybe a smidge too hard.
Mom squeezed my arm. “Well, we’re going to get Chloe home.” Looking at us, she said, “Good night, you two. I can’t wait to chat more with you, Miles.”
“Looking forward to it,” he replied. We said our goodbyes, and they all turned to go. To me, he whispered, “Should I call her Mom?”
I elbowed his stomach. “Why does it seem like you’re overly thrilled about this?”